After the huge success of “Dune 2” at the box office, it was certainly not a difficult decision for Legendary Pictures whether to continue the sci-fi epic or not. And so now “Dune 3” by Denis Villeneuve is in development.
Anyone who has seen “Dune: Part Two” in the cinema knows: The end of the film leaves an enormous amount of room for a sequel around Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet). No wonder, after all, the previous two “Dune” films are based on the prelude to an entire book series. Nevertheless, the responsible studios Warner and Legendary kept it open until the end whether they would make “Dune 3” or not, even though Villeneuve has already spoken several times about his plans for “Dune 3: Messiah”.
A decision on a sequel should only be made when not only the Spice flows, but also the money. And that has now happened. With 631 million US dollars in revenue at the international box office so far, to which something is likely to be added in the coming weeks, “Dune 2” is successful enough. So “Dune 3: Messiah” is now officially in the works at Studio Legendary.
Denis Villeneuve on board for “Dune 3”
As first reported by the US industry magazine Deadline, they will also work with Denis Villeneuve again for the third part of the “Dune” saga. But the question is: Will “Dune: Part Three” be his next project or will the director make another film first? The latter would mean that “Dune” fans would have to wait several years before they get to see “Dune 3: Messiah”.
Villeneuve had already stated several times that he did not want to return to the desert immediately. The filming was too demanding, so a break with another project was important. He may have found it now, because according to Deadline, Villeneuve might make a film about an impending nuclear war.
Is Villeneuve’s “Nuclear War” coming first?
But this is where the reports in industry publications such as Deadline, Variety and Co. become contradictory. Some write that the adaptation of the non-fiction book “Nuclear War: A Scenario” could be Villeneuve’s next project. But others say that he will only tackle it after finishing the “Dune” trilogy.
Whether it’s his next film or not, Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune 3” takes on Frank Herbert’s novel “Dune: Messiah”. In it, Paul Atreides rules the galaxy with Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) by his side. But the bloody Holy War keeps raging in his name.
In the book, Chani (Zendaya) is his concubine. So we’ll see which way the film will head towards. Till now, it initially hinted towards a separation of Chani and Paul at the end of “Dune 2”.
